Winning TV sets and Temple

21:26
Cholis Back
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Steve Addazio was a big hit at the Pennsylvania High School Football CoachesAssociation Convention on Friday, in State College. "There's a buzz about Temple now," Addazio said.

Right now, the company line at Temple is that it is "perfectly happy" in the MAC.Don't let the company line fool you.At Temple, just as anywhere else, money talks and bullbleep walks.Al Golden has handed the keys over to a nice Cherry and White brick house to Steve Addazio and it is now time for Addazio to show that house on the market by continuing to win. Golden has given Addazio players, plenty of good ones, and now it's up to Addazio to coach these guys to a title.

Every bar in town was tuned into Temple-UCLA football

Nothing less, and maybe even a little bit more. A win at Maryland would be nice. A win over Penn State before 70,000 in the hometown would be even nicer.Do that, and TV ratings in the hometown go through the roof and ticket sales to the remaining games soar.Think ESPN might notice?That's what is at stake for the school over the next few months.Addazio has been telling everyone for the last few months that "there is a great buzz about Temple" now and a "great vibe about that place."He said so again on Friday at the Pennsylvania High School Coaches Association.That might be true now, but imagine what it would be like if the Owls had that breakthrough season many believe they can have this year?The Owls will play a great schedule and can make a great case for advancing in the college football world and for the school's brand as a whole.Television networks are coming at the Big East with wads of dollars in their hands for the next national TV contract.The Big East is holding palms extended.TV networks are saying, "Wait a minute, here. Where is my Philadelphia market?"While Philadelphia is the nation's fifth-largest city, it is the nation's fourth-largest TV market. TV sets mean money.The Big East merely shrugs its shoulders and says, "We're waiting on Villanova to come up with a suitable stadium plan."Clearly, Villanova has no such plan.Temple not only has a stadium plan, has got a stadium, a good one, and has that stadium locked up for the next seven years.Temple-UCLA Eagle Bank Bowl ratings were extraordinarily high, the second-highest bowl numbers on ESPN in the 30 years of bowl games in the Philly market. People in the fourth-largest market did not tune in on a Tuesday afternoon to watch UCLA.Temple proved it can deliver the numbers.

"The relationship has worked out really well for all parties. Expansion into the Philadelphia media market has already shown benefits with strong ratings for the MAC's football television package."_ Rick Cryst,former MAC commissioner

Temple can give the Big East those numbers and the Big East can give Temple what it wants: A home for all sports.Temple belongs with schools like Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia and not with schools like the directional Michigans and the Kents and the Akrons.With a stadium and a quality Division I program already in place, the Big East would be foolish not to look at Temple football as really the only viable answer to lock up the largest available market.The top five AVAILABLE markets to the BCS are:1) Philadelphia (fourth overall)2) Houston (10th overall)3) Cleveland (17th overall)4) Orlando (19th overall)5) Baltimore (24th overall)

It's pretty clear from that list and from Temple's most recent bowl ratings that school has positioned itself well. Whether the TV people can convince the Big East the same now that this Villanova mess is over is another matter entirely.To that end, winning would not hurt.It never does.